Apparatus for assessing the quality of membrane electrode assemblies

Abstract

An apparatus comprising: first and second aligned roller pairs each having a nip between the aligned rollers of each aligned roller pair, wherein each of the first and second roller pairs have parallel axes of rotation, wherein each of the first and second aligned roller pairs is configured to electrically excite a portion of the web passed through the nip and to measure an electrical property of the excited web, wherein the first and second aligned roller pairs are configured to electrically excite a portion of the web passed through their respective nips are configured to provide a line of charge parallel to the axes of rotation of the respective roller pairs, and wherein the rollers of the aligned roller pairs are each electrically insulated from each other and from the apparatus; and a processing unit configured to at least analyze the measured electrical properties.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising:
 first and second aligned roller pairs each having a nip between the aligned rollers of each aligned roller pair, wherein each of the first and second roller pairs have parallel axes of rotation, wherein each of the first and second aligned roller pairs is configured to electrically excite a portion of the web passed through the nip and to measure an electrical property of the excited web, wherein the first and second aligned roller pairs are configured to electrically excite a portion of the web passed through their respective nips are configured to provide a line of charge parallel to the axes of rotation of the respective roller pairs, and wherein the rollers of the aligned roller pairs are each electrically insulated from each other and from the apparatus; and 
 a processing unit configured to at least analyze the measured electrical properties. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical property measured is an array of values. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical property measured is at least one of voltage or current. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the line of charge parallel to the axes of rotation of the respective aligned roller pairs independently have a length of at least 15 cm. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical property measured is voltage. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical property measured is current.